Pembina Escarpment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Turtle Mountain
Riding Mountain
Duck Mountain
Porcupine Hills
Manitoba Escarpment

The Manitoba Escarpment (known in the United States as the Pembina Escarpment) is a scarp that marks the boundary of glacial Lake Agassiz.[1] It occurs in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Manitoba.

Originally formed by the undercutting of Cretaceous sandstones by the ancestral Red River, the escarpment was later steepened by glacial scouring. The vista today, of wooded hills with small farms tucked into valleys (such as the Pembina Valley), is reminiscent of pastoral sections of New England. Streams flowing off the escarpment have high gradients and a cobble substrate.[2]

Native plants to the escarpment include burr oak, beaked hazel, high bush cranberry, serviceberry, and red osier dogwood.[2]

The scarp forms the eastern edge of Riding Mountain National Park, home of a large bison herd, and Duck Mountain Provincial Park in Manitoba.[1] Turtle Mountain Provincial Park and the Porcupine Hills are also part of the Manitoba Escarpment.

The escarpment in Riding Mountain National Park, with surrounding topography and vegetation.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Manitoba's Escarpment". Deerwood. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Pembina Escarpment". NPWRC Ecoregions of North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Coordinates: 50°37′02″N 99°31′35″W / 50.617232°N 99.52652°W / 50.617232; -99.52652

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.